The popular tourist destination – previously dubbed the gateway to the spa region by politicians – is frequented by camera handy tourists and walking groups. 

The area – equipped with a picnic table, new toilet facilities and a much lauded mineral water tap – has effectively no immediate access to the walking track that starts there – with cyclone fencing blocking the entry to a staircase.

Owners of Sailors Falls Estate Robert and Margaret McDonald have spent months communicating with Parks Victoria – but feel their questions remain unanswered.

“Many bushwalkers have declared the closure of the concrete steps to be a gross over-reaction and a nuisance to the pursuit of their regular activities,” Mr McDonald said. “We urge the Hepburn Shire, the Mineral Springs Committees, Parks Victoria and the relevant minister of the day to quickly resolve this bureaucratic mess.” 

The McDonalds are members of the local walking group and say members had initially been asked to create walking paths of different lengths for tourists. Now they can’t even access the track. 

Parks Victoria district manager Tony English confirmed the Sailors Falls staircase in Hepburn Regional Park was closed in May due to safety concerns.

“The structural shift in the staircase has created an unacceptable risk to public safety, which has been confirmed by an independent investigator,” Mr English said. “We are exploring a range of options for reinstating access to the falls, including investigating providing interim access to the falls from a different point in the reserve while ongoing solutions are thoroughly investigated.”

Mr English confirmed every effort was being made to restore safe access as soon as possibile and that the community would be informed on progress and time frames when an adequate solution was found. Visitors have been urged to obey warning signs, which The Advocate found ripped off lying in a bush, for safety reasons.